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As part of a joint venture called Bluebutton Properties, in collaboration with the Blackstone Group, British Land will refurbish the building at 199 Bishopsgate with the aim of establishing a further 142,000 sq ft of high-quality office space in the capital.
Work on the project is expected to commence in the summer of 2011, with the Royal Bank of Scotland having agreed to continue renting the currently available office space until March.
Planning permission for what will be a considerable undertaking is still to be submitted but British Land sees it as part of its ongoing effort to make the most of the development potential in and around Bishopsgate.
“This is an exciting opportunity to upgrade the building, and estate, whilst generating an attractive development return,” remarked Tim Roberts, head of offices at British Land.
“When completed, 199 Bishopsgate will provide high-quality office space at a time where supply is expected to be severely limited.”
Blackstone and British Land agreed on a deal back in August of this year to develop some 700,000 sq ft of office space on the Broadgate Estate in the City of London, with the banking group UBS having agreed occupancy terms ahead of a £340 million construction effort.
British Land is among the largest businesses of its kind in the UK and its office space portfolio alone is worth close to £3 billion and has an occupancy rate of over 90 per cent.
Editor’s notes: The refurbishment of the 12-storey office building was completed in 2012 and the project created a striking double-height reception lobby and also reduced the building’s carbon emissions by 60% through improvements to insulation and mechanical and engineering equipment.
As of 2023, as well as leased office space for rent the property also offers a wide range of flexible office space and workspace solutions.
Five floors of the building are dedicated to offering agile alternatives to renting office space on traditional terms with options including private serviced offices, large managed offices for large companies, coworking desk lounges, hireable meeting rooms, and ad hoc collaboration rooms.
These flex space solutions are operated by flexible office provider WeWork.
As of May 2023, the cost of a private office at 199 Bishopsgate was £900 per person per month and a desk in a coworking lounge cost £350 per desk per month.
As of August 2023, WeWork no longer provided space at 199 Bishopsgate. However, the office provider did provide space at 15 Bishopsgate. See WeWork’s London Offices here.